A Tangled Web Is Woven
by Jamaika-Skye
Summary: The Black Ajah get schemey! I'm not sure exactly how great this chapter is, but it gets stuff done that needs doin before we can really move on, so its all good. R
1. Default Chapter

This is my first ever fan-fiction; I hope you guys like it, please read and review

My Lady

Lady Kerinelle of House Pelinar in Andor sat gingerly down on her bed in the novices' quarters of the White Tower. Her latest meeting with Heria, the Mistress of Novices, had been one of the most… memorable… yet. She was just gearing herself up for a nice mental rant about the unfairness of life as a novice, and how she, a lady despite her youth, should not be forced into doing anything she did not want to, when a firm knock came on the door of her room.

Sighing self pityingly, hopefully loudly enough to be heard on the other side of the door, she called in what she hoped was a faint, frail voice (She had never been very good at that, she had always been depressingly healthy as a child. Honestly, how was anyone supposed to have any notice taken of them in a crowd if they could not faint at will?), "Come in."

The sight of the tall, blonde woman who strode briskly through the door almost before the words had left her lips did little to improve Kerinelle's mood. Shana was extremely unlikely to have any sympathy for her whatsoever. Despite the fact that the blonde woman wore the novices' plain white dress as well as she did, Shana always seemed to think that whatever scrapes Kerinelle found herself in were undeniably her fault, and if she would only comply to the rules of the Tower, life would be more comfortable for all concerned. For her bottom, certainly.

Sitting herself down on the end of Kerinelle's bed (The audacity of the woman! She forgot herself in the presence of a noble!), Shana, with an unusual glint of pity in her eye, said "How was it? I thought that Larien Sedai's head would explode when you asked her what the point of her lesson was. Heria Sedai can't have been gentle."

"Oh it was just terrible! She switched me! Again! Me, a Lady! All I did was to ask that hateful woman why we needed to spend so much time on such small things! I've been able to light a candle with the Power for days! And she still won't be allow us to do anything more. Surely you must be anger by this, Shana! They say you have at least as much power as I do, which is not inconsiderable, according to Katya Sedai. I mean, when the woman came to my father's estate seeking to buy a horse, I thought her eyes would fall out of her head when she first saw me, say what you will about the Aes Sedai calmness. And she spent the entire night arguing with my father about bringing me here for training. My father! High Seat of House Pelinar! And her only a farmer's daughter from the Borderlands, despite that ring on her finger.

Now look how they treat me now that they've got me here! Beatings, and chores hardly fit for peasants! It's disgusting! My family has claims on the Lion Throne, you know. I could be Queen of Andor one day, and they act as if…" Before she could work up to a proper state of distress, Kerinelle let her voice trail off at the sight of Shana's face, from which any sympathy was rapidly fading.

"Well, Nelle," The woman began carefully, "All novices are equal in the Tower, aren't we? I mean, it would hardly be fair to everyone else here if they treated you any differently from the others, would it."

"My dear Shana! It is hardly a question of fairness! It's a question of status. Surely it's not proper for myself, a woman of noble birth to be set to scrubbing pots along side a girl who at home would only be a servant at most? You must be able to see that. And do not call me Nelle!"

"Jemma doesn't see to have a problem with the way the Aes Sedai run things, and her father is a Tairen Lord. Surely if she can put up with having less special treatment, you can."

With a sigh, Kerinelle rose to her feet and moved over to the washstand in the corner. That was another thing about this place. The rooms! At home, only the lowest kitchen maid or stable boy would live in quarters so small! It was barely three paces from the door to the far wall, and even less across.

"Well, I suppose I had better be washing for dinner. If you don't mind, Shana, I will see you in the dining hall in a few minutes."

"I'm not sure that you have time, Nelle," replied Shana, wrapping a bit of her hair around a finger in what Kerinelle was almost certain was feigned nervous. " The fifteen minute warning went just as I was about to knock, and it's been at least ten minutes since then. Maybe you should come with me now?"

"And not change my dress? Certainly not, Shana. I must try and retain some semblance of status, even if Jemma (the name was almost spat) is content to undermine herself."

With a sigh, and Kerinelle was almost certain she had seen rolling eyes, Shana rose and crossed to the door, managing to sweep out of the door with as much grace as Kerinelle could have managed herself, for all her father was a fletcher in some Light-forsaken little village in Ghealdean. That was what was so infuriating about the woman. At 18, she had one year on Kerinelle, but she was so naïve! She just had no idea of the way the world worked! Expecting her to tolerate being force to work like a servant for the Light knew how many hours a day, and even in the lessons which were supposedly the reason she was here, she was being held back by hateful women who expected her to curtsey when they passed, and jump to whatever menial task they set her. Just because they had taken the Three Oaths seemed to make them think that they were above all the lords and ladies in the world. Suppressing a scream of rage, she used a trickle of the Power to heat the cold water in the wash stand, and, reluctantly releasing the deliciousness of _saidar, _she slipped the plain white dress she and the other novices wore over her head, and, after splashing her face in the warm water, pulled a fresh dress on to replace the one that was soiled from her day's scrubbing pots in the kitchen.

Shana hurried down the corridors toward the dining hall, a worried frown creasing her forehead. She had felt the flow of _saidar_ being woven from Nelle's room as she had walked away from her door, and sighed. If an Aes Sedai, or even an Accepted caught her using the One Power outside of a lesson, she would be bqck in Heria Sedai's office before she could say "status". If she was not already there first thing in the morning for being late for dinner.

She could work out why she continually tried to make the younger woman see how ridiculous it was to keep breaking the rules of the Tower so blatantly and frequently. She was sure that if the woman had not had such potential in the Power, she would have been sent back t her sprawling Andoran estate months ago. It had been almost a year since she came to the Tower, and in that time, despite making huge strides in her ability to work with _saidar_, she still refused to accept that in the Tower, all women started off on even footing. While normally Shana had no patience for uppity nobles thinking that money and blood gave them the right to tower over all the common folk, she was oddly drawn to the Andoran lady.

Maybe it was the fact that Jemma, her best friend in the Tower, who had joined only a few days before Shana herself, was a noble, albeit a minor one, where she lived in Tear. Jem had been the first noble Shana had ever seen, which was not as inconsiderable as you would have thought, her village, Mira, in Ghealdean was near to the point where two major roads crossed, and hardly a week went by without some fancy carriage rumbling through the main road, one of only five in the entire village, who did not turn her nose up at those not of noble birth. Indeed, she had been much friendlier towards Shana than some girls who were the daughters of farmers.

With a final deep sigh, she turned through the doors and into the large dining hall.


	2. The Foundations Laid

Hey… Just for a head's up, I haven't quite decided when this story takes place in relation to Rand and the books. Some time before the series starts, and post- Trolloc wars. I don't intend this to have anything to do with Rand or the Dragon, so to really get this; you may have to ignore any things that don't really fit with the books, (i.e. possible Black Ajah becoming known before they should, etc) Thanks, hope you enjoy!

            Eyes searching the dining hall, Shana quickly spotted Jemma sitting alone at a table a few pace away from the door to the kitchens. Walking over to the other young woman, she slid wearily into a seat next to her friend just as the sound of a gong echoed through the room, and, as the main doors swung shut, those novices whose turn it was to serve at table came through the doors next to the table where they were sitting. Shana let out a soft groan; she hadn't seen Kerinelle come into the hall before the doors closed. If she had she would undoubtedly have made her way to where she and Jemma were sitting. Few of the other girls would tolerate her superior attitude and almost constant whining about the quality of the food, which, although it far out stripped that on which Shana had been raised, was apparently not in the same league as that which would be served to an Andoran lady. Even Jemma had trouble understanding why she was so kind to the girl who obviously thought of her as an inferior. Even though Kerinelle treated Jemma with some respect for being of noble blood, ever since she had discovered exactly the social standing of Jem's family, which wasn't wonderful, she had been decidedly distant with her.

            Noticing her groan, Jemma asked "Are you alright? I didn't see you after Larien Sedai's lesson. If you're ill, you should go and see one of the Yellow sisters. Thari Sedai is supervising tonight. You could speak to her after the meal."

            Glancing up at the slightly raised table in the center of the room where five Sisters were eating, keeping an eye on the novices and Accepted while they dined. Thari, a pretty, if slightly plump woman with a kindly expression on her face as she thanked one of the serving novices for whatever dish she had set before her, and laughter lines at the corners of her mouth. She did have a bit of a headache, true, but it was nothing that had not been brought on by talking with Nelle.

            "I'm fine… it's just Nelle again. She can't seem to get it into her head that none of the Aes Sedai care that she is a noble, or are likely to start caring any time soon."

            "Why do you keep putting up with the horse muck she comes out with? Blood and ashes, she treats you like dirt beneath her feet! If I were you, I'd leave her to be switched until she works out that no one here gives a damn about her daddy's precious estates. 'Oh, my dear Jemma, it is simply _gorgeous_ to ride out of a morning on my horse into the grounds. He's from the _finest_ Tairen stock you know. He must have cost my father and absolute _fortune_, you know.'"

            Giggles at her friend's uncanny imitation of the Andoran girl fading, Shana sighed again and looked down at the empty plate in front of her, and wished the girls who were serving would hurry up and finish with the Accepted, and get over to where they were sitting. She seemed to be sighing an awful lot lately, and she felt more tired than her chores warranted. Perhaps she really was getting ill. _Or maybe I'm just homesick_ she thought. It had been nearly six weeks since she had sent her last letter home off with a pigeon to her father, and she still had not had a reply. Usually her letters were answered in half the time this one had taken.

            "I'm worried about my father, Jem. He's never taken so long to answer one of my letters. And you were there when we over heard those Sisters talking about the Whitecloak incursions into Ghealdan. What if something's happened to him and Elli? Mira's not that far from the border with Amadicia. What if they've been taken prisoner? If they find out that they're related to a novice, they'll be put to the question, or just hung, or-"

            "Whoa! Calm down. Your father's fine. Your sister's fine. Everything's fine. Have you considered the possibility that the pigeon just didn't make it? A million and one things can happen to a bird on a journey that long."

            "I know… I guess I'm just stressed because of hearing about the Whitecloaks."

            "Look. If that was anything to worry about I'm sure we would have heard more than just to Aes Sedai talking in a corridor. Light, if it were really serious, they wouldn't even be talking in a corridor in the first place. If it will make you feel any better, we could try that eavesdropping thing you discovered again on one of their studies. Who were they again? Reylina and-"

            "Shut up!" hissed Shana, glaring across the table at her friend as she caught sight of the tiniest of smiles crossing the face of Girona, the novice who had the bedroom next to Jemma's. If the Aes Sedai got even a hint of a tenth of what she had discovered for herself when she was meant to be asleep, she would probably spend the next two years of her life being soundly switched by Heria and a further decade scrubbing pots in the kitchens. Novices were not allowed to channel on their own outside of lessons, and Girona was spiteful enough to be perfectly capable of running straight up to the centre table and telling the Aes Sedai sitting there what she had overheard. If she had overheard. The girl seemed to have a permanent smirk on her face nowadays, ever since she had walked in on Jemma Channeling her washing water warm and had told Heria, who had in turn given Jemma the responsibility of copying all the notes that she took for two weeks.

            Glaring at the girl's retreating back, Jemma turned to face Shana, at least having the grace to blush slightly as the look on her face turned from hatred to guilt.

            "Blood and ashes, Shan, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that cow was here, or I never would have mentioned it. But anyway, I don't see how you've managed to go this long without being raised to Accepted. You've been here two years and you're more powerful in the Power than almost all the girls who have been raised since then!"

            Trying and failing to suppress a smile at the complement, Shana replied, "Be that as it may, I can hardly reveal to the Aes Sedai that I've been working on my own for a year and half can I? I have play stupid in lessons, you know that. Light, I'd rather name the Dark One a hundred times than face what would happen if they find out exactly how much I can do. Anyway, I'm not that remarkable. Nelle's at least as powerful as me, for all her airs, and you're not far behind. Speak of the Dark One!"

            She looked over at the door, which had just shut with an audible bang, and her eyes quickly found Kerinelle, who was gliding towards them with her chin in the air. She still managed to think herself worthy of attention, despite being dressed no differently from most of the girl's in the room. Oh well. She was likely to get that extra attention if the faces of the five Sisters sitting around the centre table were anything to go by. They were more serene even than usual- never a good sign with Aes Sedai, Shana had come to realise- but every eye was fixed on the girl now sitting down next to Jemma. Rolling her eyes at her Jemma, Shana addressed the new arrival.

            "Late, are we, Nelle?" she asked.

            "Only a little. Surely that can make no difference." Despite her arrogant voice and apparent confidence and lack of concern, she still shot a nervous glance towards the Aes Sedai who were supervising when she though Shana's eyes had turned back to Jemma. "I saw Jaydan on the way down here, Shana. He's already finished dining. He sends his regards, although he seemed very anxious to be getting on. I can't imagine why. Surely the Warders don't keep their apprentices working after dinner?"

            Glaring at Kerinelle, and Jemma, whose face had split in a grin at the mention of her twin brother, who had been sent to the Tower to train to become a Warder the same time as Jemma had become a novice. She knew she should not have mentioned the way she felt towards the man. Kerinelle seemed to think it terribly romantic- she would- and could not understand why Shana did not speak to the man, or at least stop turning bright red at the sight of him. Jemma, for her part, seemed to think it a colossal joke, and never missed an opportunity to make her talk to him. Really, Jemma seemed to be able to pass her brother in a corridor while in Shana's company than seemed humanly possible.

            Sighing, she pictured the man in her head. Despite being Jemma's twin, and as such the same age as herself, his tanned body, broad shoulders and strong arms two years of Warder training, and years of swordplay before hand had brought him made him seem older by a few years. She had loved him almost at first sight, when she had almost tripped over him during her fist week in the Tower, as he had been fishing a baby bird that had fallen from its nest in the big tree that overhung the path from the bush beneath it, and she knew for a fact that he had kept it hidden in his room, feeding it on worms until it was old enough to fly off for itself. Jerking back to reality as Jemma kicked her under the table, giggling, she flicked a bit of gravy from her plate of stew across the table- Kerinelle shrieked as a few drops of the brown liquid splattered the front of her white dress, earning a reproving glance from one of the Accepted eating at the next table- she began to eat, trying to banish thoughts of Jaydan to the back of her mind. And failing. She couldn't quite forget those shoulders.

            Irlana Pelinova stared at the map of the novices' quarters on her desk. Three rooms were marked on it.  Kerinelle Pelinar. Shana Jelasqua. Jemma Tamoya. All of them powerful. Each of them had the potential to take the Amyrlin Seat. She would put her money on Shana, but it really could be any of them. And wouldn't it be wonderful if the Amyrlin Seat could be Black Ajah. She herself was Keeper, and at least one of the Sitters, Reylina, a pretty Sster who pretended to have no Ajah other than the Blue, but had in truth been sworn to the Black even longer than she herself had been. But for one of her Sisters to be Amyrlin… the possibilities were endless. She was the leader of the Black Ajah inside the Tower, and as such new more of her Sisters names than any other Black Sister in existence. And the thirteen needed to turn the girls to the Shadow would be easy enough to find. The necessary Myrddaal would be more difficult, but for some thing so important, she was sure she could persuade her superior at Shayol Ghul to send the Halfmen by the Waygate just outside the city. The location of that Waygate was one thing she was certain was known only to the Black Ajah, as was the extraordinary work that Shana and Jemma had been doing.

            All she had to do was get the girls there. Somewhat more difficult, but not impossible. The foundations of the plan were already laid. Smiling to herself, she rang the bell which would bring a servant scurrying into the study. She hoped it would be one of her agents. She needed a message taken to Reylina.


	3. Shaken and Stirred

Hi all… AS far as timing for this story goes, I've decided to set it approximately a century or so before Moiraine enters the Tower as a novice, as this will mean I don't have to include any of the books' characters, and worry about writing them doing things completely out of character, etc. Just so's ya know. Please R&R

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Shaken and Stirred

            Jaydan Tamoya was so wrapped up in his own day dreams that he hardly noticed the woman who he jostled as he wandered the corridors of the White Tower in the general direction of his room in the quarters set aside for trainee-warders until a disgusted sniff made him glance up. Horrified, his eyes came to rest on the blue fringed shawl the woman was wearing.

            Bowing hurriedly and deeply, he blurted, "Forgive me, Aes Sedai! I did not notice you. I was taking a quicker route back to the Warders quarters, or I never would have been in this part of the Tower at all. Please for-"

            "It is of no matter, Jaydan. Tell me, will you be seeing your sister at some point this evening?"

            The question threw Jaydan off somewhat. He had been expecting a lecture about respect for Aes Sedai, or being in an area of the Tower where he was not strictly supposed to be, although he did not think there was any written rule prohibiting him from being there. It was just unusual for any one not Aes Sedai or one of there pupils to enter the novice quarters. Pausing to consider whether or not he really wanted to face Jemma- come to think of it, how did the woman know who he was?- and her jibes about Shana that evening, and whether or not she might actually be there in the flesh, he very nearly drifted of into his own head again, before the woman still standing in front of him with barely disguised impatience cleared her throat expectantly, jerking the picture of Shana's face clean out is mind

            "Um… I could, Aes Sedai. If you would like. May I ask wh-"

            "Please ask her to come to my study directly after breakfast tomorrow morning. It will save me remembering to send anther novice with the message later. Make sure she realizes it is most urgent. Yes. Most urgent." The last was almost inaudible as her voice faded away, and she strode away down the corridor almost before Jaydan had a chance to reply that it would be his pleasure. Sighing, he continued walking, turning right after a few steps in the direction of his sister's small room.

He felt a strange mix of dread at the thought of possibly running into Shana and making an ass out of himself, and hope that she would be with Jemma, so that he could just see her. Firmly resolving that if she was there, he would just say hello, deliver his message, and be gone, commanding his cheeks not to blush, he realized that while lost in thought, he had walked straight past his sister's door. Excellent start.

            A girl clad in novice white came out of the room next to Jemma's, and Jaydan nearly turned around and walked away again, the girl noticed him, and with a poorly hidden squeak of surprise and pleasure, she walked up to him, staring straight into his eyes with a pretty smile lighting up her coppery-skinned face. Giggling, the Domani girl placed a hand lightly on his shoulder, before drawing away and opening her mouth to speak. Thankfully, before she could get any words out- he had felt that accursed blush creeping up his face- is sister's voice said from behind him, "Go away, Girona"

            All semblance of that smile fading instantly, Girona glared around him at his sister, saying "I think you'll find I'm perfectly within my rights to talk to someone out side my room, Jemma."

            "Yes. I suppose you are." Jemma shot back, a contemptuous stare on her face as she looked at the girl on the other side of Jaydan with utter loathing. "Come on, Jay"

            With that, she calmly opened the door to her room, and while she stood at the door, Jaydan strode gratefully inside. Jemma followed him, leaving the Domani girl standing with an equal mix of shock and hatred on her face.

            Closing the door behind her Light-blinded fool of a brother, she looked at him with the glare she usually reserved for the backs of Aes Sedai who were setting her punishments.        

            "What in the Pit of Doom do you think you are doing talking to Girona?" she nearly bellowed, only keeping her voice down enough to make sure it did not carry through the walls to next door. She did not want the Domani cow to know she had annoyed her. "You are meant to be in love with my best friend. If you don't bloody realize that, I will have to tell her myself, so that she can act as she sees fit."

            Wincing, Jaydan looked at her reproachfully- she rolled her eyes, he had no backbone for a proper argument- he opened his mouth and said "Please don't swear, Jem. You're getting a mouth like a sailor. I just came to tell you that Reylina Sedai wants you in her office first thing after breakfast. She didn't say what for, but she said it was urgent."

            Gasping, Jemma sat down hard on her bed. Had Girona over heard her and Shana at dinner? Had she told Reylina? _Blood and ashes, she'll kill us both!_ Trying to recover some calm, she asked "Did she say if she wanted to see Shana as well? Ar you sure she didn't say what it was about? Oh Light."

            Raising his eyebrows at her- he could be as infuriating as Nelle in his own way- he replied "I'm sure, Jem. Light, what have you down to get you in such a state?"

            "Oh… it doesn't matter." She lied, hopefully more convincingly than she felt it had been, "Go away now Jay. And if I hear so much of a rumour of you _thinking_ of going any where near Girona, I will show you what you can do with the flat of that sword you're always carrying about with you. I Think you'll find it can be just as… useful… as the blade"

            Eyebrows raised again, this time in mild alarm, he got up of the bed and walked out without another word. She waited five minutes to make sure he didn't see her leave, and set of for Shana's room, to see if she too had received a summons.

            Irlana was in a towering rage, nearly shouting at the two women seated calmly in front of her. Reylina and Tamika Devrin, supposedly a Yellow like herself, had listened calmly to the news of Shayol Ghul's refusal to send Myrddraal, and now seemed to be waitng for her to have fully vented her rage before speaking. She could not understand for the life of her why they were not more upset by the news. Unless they already had a plan. _Yes…_

            "Well?" she asked.

            Raising an eyebrow slightly, Tamika, who could be so cold sometimes as to make Irlana wonder why she had not chosen the White, said, "Well what?"

            "What are we to do!" screeched Irlana, loudly enough to make Reylina wince- it was her study they were in, any noise would arouse questions about her, not the other two. "We cannot allow those three go to waste."

            "Have you considered the possibility of taking the girls to Shayol Ghul? If the Halfmen won't come to you…" asked Reylina. "We will just have to think of a way to… motivate them to leave the city we should be able to deal with getting them thorough the Waygate. They can be held at the Mountain until such time as we can gather enough sisters to perform the act. If I alter the purpose of my visit with Jemma Tamoya tomorrow morning to trying to find out what will get them agitated enough to leave the Tower, it should be perfectly simple to give them the last push out of the Tower gates. Kerinelle might be tricky, I can imagine her being too frightened to leave the Tower, however much she hates it, but I'm sure we can manage it" She finished calmly, eyeing Irlana as if weighing the possible reactions.

            Irlana sighed. The plan could very feasibly work, and it was certainly the only thing we had to go on. "Yes," she said, after a brief pause to make the other two women think she was considering the plan from a superior's point of view rather than that of a woman desperate for a suggestion- she was not sure it worked. "Tamika, sit in on the meeting with the Tamoya girl tomorrow, in case you pick up something Relina misses. Be careful, she is intelligent, and could resist if she thinks something is amiss."

            "And what will you be doing, if you don't mind me asking?" questioned Tamika.

            "Sending word to Shayol Ghul of the new plan. Now go." She waited for them to reach the door before adding "And ladies. If this does not work I shall be most… displeased." They left with suitable looks of apprehension on their faces, although they had to realize that that had been an empty threat. Reylina was nearly as powerful as she was, and Tamika not to far behind. If they linked, they would be able to defeat her easily. But still. They needed to be reminded that she _was _ in charge. Sinking into her chair, she began considering all the angles of how to get the three girls out of the Tower, and into Shayol Ghul.


End file.
